5 p.m. outage update: Power out to nearly half a million N.J. customers

The number of power outages multiplied to a total of nearly half a million — 497,000 — of New Jersey's 3.9 million customers this afternoon at 5 p.m.

Jersey Central Power & Light had the most, especially in its coastal service territories, with 275,000 outages, including more than 95,000 each in Monmouth and Ocean counties, its website said. That included 24,000 customers in the Toms River area, 17,000 in Brick Township and 8,000 in Wall Township.

Video: Wires down in Brick TwpWind from Hurricane Sandy took down live power lines on Van Zile Rd in Brick twp. Video clip by John Munson/The Star-Ledger

Public Electric Service & Gas, which serves more inland and northern counties, had around 138,000 outages, according to data on its website, including 38,000 in Essex County, 19,000 in Passaic County, 17,000 each in Bergen and Mercer counties and 16,000 in Middlesex County. Around 6,800 customers lost power in Union County, and 5,000 in Somerset County.